Work Text:
Mark:
Will be late
Mark:
Hold up at bank
“Everything okay, baby?” Lisa asked when Roscoe tutted.
“Mm, fine,” Roscoe said, tucking his phone back into the inside pocket of his coat. “Mark texted. Says he’s still going to be a while, there’s a problem with the bank.” Lisa rolled her eyes.
“Bet some snobby bas- banker,” she stressed slowly when Roscoe gave her a pointed look, “is getting all high-and-mighty at him, probably.”
“If they are, you and I both know how that’ll end with Mark as their opposition,” Roscoe muttered, wincing as a stream of screaming children tore past his knees. “Why are we here again?” he sighed tiredly.
“Because,” Lisa said cheerfully as they strolled over to the swingset, “Mark asked us to babysit someone while he was busy, didn’t he?” she cooed to the little boy perched on her hip, happily chewing his fingers.
“I got that,” Roscoe muttered, dodging another hysterical child shooting past him, “I just don’t understand why we had to bring him here.”
“It’s a nice day!” Lisa pouted. “He’ll love it!”
“Mark can make any day nice! It’s hardly special!” Roscoe said indignantly. Lisa pouted more. “He’s probably responsible for this,” he said pointing at the clear sky. “He always has his wand on him, after all.”
I don’t need to bring my wand with me, oh no, Mark thought to himself bitterly. Nooo, no, why would I need to bring my wand to the bank? After all, I’m only running errands; it’s not like I’m robbing the place.
“Everybody on the ground! Now!”
Then again, Mark grumbled silently as he sank to his knees, someone else might be.
“Well, if Mark did do this, then we know why, don’t we?” Lisa cooed, bouncing Josh on her hip. Josh made a noise and wriggled, pointing a hand at the swings. “Yes, we’re going to go on the swings!” Lisa babbled happily.
“We could have taken him to the library,” Roscoe said, dodging a cluster of excited children who weren’t paying attention to the people around them.
“What fun would that have been for him?” Lisa asked incredulously over her shoulder at him. “They’re all quiet and boring.”
“Not in the children’s section,” Roscoe shrugged. “We could have read him a story.”
Lisa pouted. “Honey, I know you don’t like the noise, but please, for Mark? For me?” She lifted Josh in her arms and pressed her cheek to his, eyes wide. “For Josh?”
“You had me at ‘for you’,” Roscoe said seriously, reaching up and tickling Josh’s chubby cheek with a finger. Lisa beamed. “I do want to take him on the roundabout, though,” he added quickly, squeezing his eyes shut and grinding his teeth together as a particularly shrill child pelted across the play park. “That’s my payment for bringing you here,” Roscoe said, bending his knees so he was eye-level with Josh (who wasn’t looking at him, still staring at the swings). “I get to play too.”
“Hands where we can see them!”
Mark ducked his head, hiding his face while panicked men and women around him scrambled to obey.
Did these idiots really have to pick now to rob this place? He’d been in that damn queue for thirty five minutes. It had been his turn next.
The customers behind him whimpered as the man with a gun ushered them back against the wall.
Mark rolled his eyes. Were they really panicking? In this city? Come on, give it two minutes and the Flash would--
Oh no.
The Flash would show up and he would be here. He would be here, hands on his head like an idiot, as a hostage. Wally would never let him live it down.
Wait.
What if he told the Rogues?
No.
Nonononononono.
Why the hell didn’t he bring his wand with him?
Mark glanced up at the men with no gimmicks and normal guns.
You didn’t bring you wand with you.
But they don’t know that.
“Oi, mister,” Lisa huffed, gripping Josh under the arms as he wriggled. “I can’t put you in the swing if you keep moving.” Josh made a noise, stamping his feet on the seat of the swing. “No, sweetie, you’re supposed to sit in it, not stand in it. C’mon- There!” Lisa chimed as Josh was sat successfully in the basket of the swing, hands slapping excitedly against the top of it. “Honey, do you want to push him?”
Roscoe’s attention was elsewhere. He was eyeing the climbing frame. A group of boys - too old for the park - were sat on it, laughing loudly. His lip curled as one of the teenagers waved a crude gesture at one of his friends and sneered something vulgar loud enough for him and every child in the park to hear him.
“Roscoe? You okay?”
“Yes, my love,” Roscoe assured her, turning and smiling at the sight of Lisa gently pushing Josh on the swing. He reached out his hand for her. “You’re supposed to push him from the front.”
“Huh?”
“Here-” He proffered his hand and when Lisa took it, tugged her round, positioning her in front of him and the swing, his hands on her waist. “If you’re in front of him, he can see you.”
Josh did seem happier now he could see her, Lisa reasoned, cooing and waving at the toddler as he giggled and clapped as he swung towards her. “Well aren’t you a dad in the making,” Lisa teased, nudging her head back against Roscoe’s sternum. Roscoe shrugged, dipping down to kiss Lisa on the forehead and earn himself a happy little noise from his girlfriend.
“Just something I picked up.”
Three men, three guns. One had his back to the bank as he barked orders at the tellers. The other two were stood as lookouts, one gun on the door, the other on the row of civilians with their backs to the wall.
There was a young woman snivelling next to him who flinched when one of the men snapped at her to shut up. Must be new here, Mark reasoned. There’s always one. He glanced down to the space between them - she’d dropped her handbag. A quick look inside- perfect. Now he just needed a window.
He had to act quickly. Flash could turn up any second and turn him into a laughing stock for life.
“The hell are you calling me for?” Lisa muttered to herself as she stared at her phone screen. She huffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Hey, Lenny-”
Roscoe snorted as Lisa stepped aside. “He likes to be annoying,” Roscoe said to Josh conversationally, as if he naturally expected Josh to nod and agree. Instead, the toddler made a noise and pointed out of the swing. “You want to get out.” It might’ve been a question, it might’ve been a statement, but nonetheless Roscoe lifted Josh out of the swing and held him up to eye level.
“Hello, Josh.” Josh burbled and patted his slobbery hands against Roscoe’s face, and the Top scrunched up his nose. “Yes, hello.” Roscoe shifted Josh in his arms so he was held against his chest, only for the toddler to squirm and lean to the side, pointing at the ground again. “What are you-” Roscoe frowned, looking round. Josh didn’t seem to be pointing at anything specific. “Oh, do you want to get down?” He set Josh down experimentally on the grass, holding his hands to steady him as his little legs wobbled. Josh gripped Roscoe’s fingers tightly in his fists and, after a longer consideration of the patch of grass in front of him, started to waddle forwards.
“Where are you going, hmm?” Roscoe asked, waddling behind Josh as he toddled across the playpark, gripping his fingers for balance, Roscoe steadying him as he swayed. “Where are you going?” Josh squealed a string of vague noises. “I see,” Roscoe said, blinking and nodding. “Yes, of course.”
Roscoe followed Josh, watching as the toddler let go of his fingers and wobbled forwards by himself. The toddler wobbled, little arms flailing before he dropped to his hands and knees. Roscoe froze. Josh seemed unphased, however, now having taken a great interest in the grass. He rolled round, plonking himself down and grabbing loose handfuls of the grass When some came away, flecks of green in his palms, he tried again, pulling at the grass more firmly.
“Hey.” Josh raised his head, craning his neck and squinting up at the sky as Roscoe stood in front of him. Roscoe squatted down and wiggled his fingers in a little wave. Josh waved a fist of grass back at him. “Are you having fun?” he asked, sitting down opposite Josh. The toddler waved his arms again, dropping handfuls of grass onto Roscoe’s legs. “...Thank you. Here, Josh-” Roscoe leant back, plucking a dandelion from the grass. “What’s this?” He held it up, Josh’s eyes following it curiously. He handed it to Josh. “What’s that, Josh? Isn’t that pretty? No, no, don’t eat it--”
The two men guarding the bank’s entrance hall were looking to their leader. Now was his chance. Mark slipped his hand inside the woman handbag of the woman next to him and popped the catch on her fold up umbrella. He squeezed his fist around one of the joints of the metal spokes until it snapped in two. Unseen by anyone, Mark slipped the silver rod out of its fabric lining and up his coat sleeve.
Showtime.
The other hostages stared fearfully at Mark as he got to his feet and made a show of brushing his coat down.
“Now-” the three masked men snapped their attention - and their aim - towards the bored drawl of the man on his feet, “-this-”
“Get back down on the ground!”
“-has all been wonderfully entertaining,” Mark sneered. “But you are wasting my time.”
The leader of the three cocked his gun and aimed it at Mark.
“You wanna be a hero, huh?”
Mark scoffed, slipping the silver rod out of his coat sleeve and twirling it between his fingers. “Not even slightly.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lisa said, pulling a face as her brother rambled on. “I know- look, go have a strop at Sam or something, okay? Len- Lenny-!”
“What?”
“Cool it!” With that, she hung up. She shoved her phone into her handbag with a smug smile, scanning the park for Roscoe and Josh. “Where’ve you-” Then she spotted them; Roscoe was sat cross legged on the grass, Josh sat on his lap. Roscoe was holding something in his hand and talking to Josh.
“Now, come on, try again,” Roscoe encouraged. “Like this- can you do this?” he asked, holding the dandelion in front of Josh, the toddler watching, mesmerised, as the fluffy seeds were blown away. “Can you do that?” Josh watched as Roscoe blew on the dandelion again. Josh looked at Roscoe. Then the dandelion.
Roscoe burst out laughing as Josh blew a raspberry at the dandelion. “Almost,” he chuckled, bouncing him on his knee. “Try again.”
He looked up when he heard the click. Lisa was stood there, her phone in her hands, watching the scene with adoration. “What?” he asked bashfully.
“Is someone feeling broody?” she cooed. Roscoe rolled his eyes, smiling to himself.
“Hush, you.”
“Mark’s not here~” Lisa teased, kneeling beside him. “We could keep him if you want.”
Roscoe shook his head. “As sweet as he is, I would rather have my own.”
“You- you want children?”
Roscoe froze. Should he have not said that? “Do…you want children?” Roscoe asked slowly. “If you don’t I won’t-”
“I just never thought you would - if you do want them?” Lisa asked warily. “You might’ve been just joking around, I don’t know.”
Roscoe nodded slowly. “I...would like children,” he admitted. “However if you don’t-” He was silenced by a finger pressed delicately to his lips.
“Shall we talk about this later?” Lisa asked quietly. She looked...content? Roscoe relaxed a little and nodded.
“We can talk about this later,” he agreed with a smile. Lisa smiled and leant over to kiss him, only to frown when Roscoe glanced across the park and suddenly leant back out of her reach. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
Roscoe blushed. “There are children staring at us.”
The ground of friends who had been watching them from the slide all ducked out of sight when Lisa’s head snapped round in their direction.
“Now they aren’t,” she simpered, pecking Roscoe on the cheek.
The cheerful chorus of “ewwwwwww” that came from the slide was followed by a fit of giggles as Lisa Snart, the Golden Glider, feared and revered Rogue of Central and Keystone City blew a wet raspberry at a pack of nosy children.
“Like you’re really a Rogue,” the leader of the small gang growled.
“Want me to prove it?” Mark challenged. “I could light you all up on a whim and you think it’s clever to bait me?”
“You’re bluffing,” the man sneered, cocking his gun and making the civilians yell in fear. His cronies weren’t so sure. They were stood behind their leader, fidgeting and eyeing the back door.
“Which is faster? Lightning or a bullet?” Mark asked casually, raising the umbrella spoke. “‘Lightning never strikes twice’. True. Usually. But one- two- three-” he tapped his ‘wand’ at each man in turn “-I think I can make an exception.”
“Boss, let’s just beat it. I didn’t sign up for this.”
“He’s bluffing,” the leader of the men spat, just as something out of the window behind him caught Mark’s eye. The Weather Wizard gave them a wicked grin.
“Am I?”
“Shshshshsh,” Lisa hushed, bouncing on her toes as she clutched a wailing Josh to her chest. “Shhhsh. Hey, c’mon, what’s the matter?” she pouted. “Why’s he got so upset?” she asked Roscoe who shrugged.
“He’s probably just tired and fussy,” Roscoe tutted, reaching for the boy. “Come here, you.” Josh kept wailing, his face red as tears streamed down his face. “Is he teething? Mark never mentioned anything about th-” Both froze as sparks flashed around Josh’s eyes.
“I forgot he could do that,” Roscoe murmured, tapping his fingers against Josh’s back. Lisa was staring at the sky.
“Uh, honey?”
“Yes, sweetums?” Roscoe followed Lisa’s gaze upwards dark storm clouds flooded the sky.
“I don’t think that’s all he can do,” she murmured.
“Ah,” Roscoe agreed. Josh screamed and lightning ripped the sky in two. “Library?”
“Library.”
The first strike of lightning made everyone scream; the three men ducked for cover as Mark raised his ‘wand’. The leader bared his teeth and primed his gun at Mark, however Mark had already shot forwards, his fist colliding with the man’s jaw. Mark brought his knee up hard against the man’s ribs, before kicking back and catching one of the other men behind the knees and sending him crashing into his friend. Another swing and the leader of the gang dropped to the floor, unconscious. Mark rounded on his cronies, the umbrella spoke raised threateningly. They dropped their guns and scrambled backwards, hands raised. Mark smirked at the sight.
“Smart move.”
Mark kicked each gun across the floor of the bank one by one. Satisfied that the gang no longer posed a threat, he gestured for the tentative group of civilians to stand, tucking the ‘weather wand’ into an inside pocket of his coat.
“Someone do me a favour and call the cops after I’ve left,” Mark smiled at the dumbfounded civilians. “Oh, and just so you know,” he added, stepping over the unconscious gang leader, “if you tell anyone I was here-” he gestured to the three men on the floor “-no one will believe you.”
“Now,” Mark smiled at the shocked tellers as he took out his wallet, “I appear to be having some trouble with my savings account…”
“Oh, isn’t this a picture.”
Josh squealed as Mark appeared round the colourful bookshelf. He wiggled as he was lifted off his uncle’s knee and set on his feet.
“I think somebody’s missed me,” Mark grinned as he was rushed by a babbling toddler. He ducked down, scooping Josh up and lifting him up into the air. Josh slapped his tiny hands against his father’s face and Mark could only grimace at the toddler slobber being wiped on him. He kissed his son’s chubby cheek and set him comfortably on his hip. “So,” Mark smirked at his friends, “get caught in the rain, did you?”
“What gave you that idea?” Roscoe asked flatly. Both he and Lisa were soaked through, their hair plastered to their faces as they dripped slowly onto the patchwork carpet of the children’s section of the library.
“Someone got stroppy and made it rain,” Lisa said. “A lot.”
“Aww,” Mark cooed, tickling Josh’s tummy. “Why’s that, huh? Did you not have fun with Uncle Roscoe and Auntie Lisa? When did he start crying?”
“About twenty minutes ago?” Lisa guessed.
“Huh,” Mark smiled, bouncing Josh on his hip. “How about that.” He kissed his son on the cheek again. “Good boy,” he whispered.
“I see you’re not soaked,” Lisa said.
“Oh, yes, it’s stopped raining now,” Mark smirked. “Looks like someone knew I was on my way!”
“What took you so long, anyway?” Roscoe asked, wiping drops of rainwater from his face.
“I told you earlier,” Mark said smoothly. “There was a hold up at the bank.”